Cheetah conservation and farmers can coexist in Namibia – CCF founder Laurie Marker

Cheetah Conservation Fund founder and executive director Laurie Marker says cheetahs and farmers can coexist in Namibia, protecting both the endangered big cat and the livestock industry.

She recently won a lifetime achievement award in research for her cheetah conservation work from the government.

Marker says her organisation and others are developing tools and techniques to coexist with cheetahs.

“There are only about 1 000 cheetahs left in Namibia – the cheetah capital of the world – and many are still being killed by farmers annually,” she says.

There are less than 7 000 cheetahs in Africa, spread across 23 countries.

When Marker began working in Namibia in the 1980s, her research found that farmers had killed at least half of the country’s cheetah population.

“What I want people to understand is cheetahs aren’t wanton livestock killers. They look for easy opportunities to catch their food. This is why we show farmers how to protect their livestock and live in harmony with cheetahs,” she says.

She says the Cheetah Conservation Fund sees itself as a partner to livestock and wildlife farmers.

Tools such as livestock guarding dogs, protecting young calves with calving camps, and using breeding seasons can all protect livestock.

In addition, maintaining good rangeland can increase wildlife, Marker says.

Having a good prey base of wildlife and good grazing lands for wildlife will in turn protect livestock, she says.

“A lot of our focus at the CCF is on research and training. For our ongoing programme called Future Farmers of Africa, we train livestock farmers, and importantly, their farmworkers,” Marker says.

The organisation also works with conservancies to enable the free movement of wildlife, and with the youth through the fund’s Future Conservationists of Africa school education programmes.

“The CCF’s research and education centre is open daily and we welcome Namibians to visit us,” Marker says.

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